Newspa fall2013 hires

Read about what some of the speakers at the 2013 NEWSPA conference had to say, as well as learn about what is being planned for the April 9 conference on the UW-Oshkosh campus and more.

Fall 2013
Vol. 37 No. 1
Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inside...
2013 Conference recap
Journalism scholarships
Looking ahead to 2014
and more!
Table of
Contents
features
05
NEWSPA Board Meeting
The NEWSPA board met last month to discuss
plans for the upcoming conference.
06
Lorenz Wins NEWSPA Scholarship
07
Advance-Titan visits high schools
10
2013 Conference Recap
UW Madison freshman took home NEWSPA’s
$500 scholarship last spring.
UW Oshkosh’s newspaper staff will be visiting
high schools to talk about journalism.
In case you missed it, read all about the sessions and speakers at the 2013 conference.
departments
03
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 02
Letter from the President
Read sara Marquardt’s letter about the impact
of social media on today’s students.
04
Adviser Profile
07
Journalism Scholarships
16
Board Member Contact Information
Meet Hartford Union High School’s newspaper
adviser, Jeff Carter.
Letter from the President
by Sara Marquardt
interesting to anyone except maybe
NEWSPA President your dentist!
My complaint, however, is not
with
social media so much as it is
--feeling happy; 75 likes; share
with
what
my students are interestthis on your wall; retweeted 14
ed
in.
times; 187 followers…
The conflict in Syria? Not so
Sometimes it seems that social
much.
What happened on Jersey
media is taking over our students’
Shore?
That apparently has been
lives.
trending
all week. Congress’ controMany times when they answer
versial
sequester
without passing a
a question, it has little depth and
budget?
Not
one
tweet.
Miley Cyrus
sounds more like a Facebook status
twerking
at
the
VMAs.
OMG!
than critical thinking.
I believe one of our many and varThe amount of minutiae they
ied
duties as educators, especially
share with each other really boggles
with
our penchant for journalism,
the mind…what they ate, who they
is
to
spark
students’ interest in the
saw at the gas station, how many
world
around
them, at least a little
times they washed their hair this
farther than Justin
week.
Bieber and Selena
When I was a
I
believe
one
of
our
many
Gomez’s rocky rokid, I wrote that
and
varied
duties
as
edumance.
rubbish in my diHow do we do
cators, especially with our
ary and didn’t let
this?
We need to
anyone see it! Now
penchant for journalism, is
show
how importit’s out there for
to spark students’ interest in
ant
and
relevant
everyone to read,
the
world
around
them.
to
them
these
isbe it Facebook,
sues
are.
Just
like
Sara Marquardt
Twitter, blogging,
Instagram,
TumNEWSPA President we tell them when
writing for us, take
blr, and whatever
the story and show
else they’ll think of
the
proximity.
next.
Why does it matter to us? If we
And honestly, the fact that you
can
show this and get them excited
flossed twice today is not remotely
J
“
”
Sara Marquardt
about this, our publications will only
improve.
This year’s NEWSPA conference
is one way to get kids excited about
the news around them and the thrilling world of journalism.
We are keeping many of our staple sessions that teach the fundamentals of good journalism, but we
are also bringing some new sessions
to you to help spark that interest.
Join us on April 9 for what is sure
to be another great conference with
networking, learning and fun.
Dates to remember
to register for reducedNov. 30 deadline
priced NEWSPA membership
Feb. 3
Newspaper contest deadline
April 1
NEWSPA scholarship deadline
April 2
Conference registration deadline
April 9 2014 NEWSPA conference!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
to stay up to date on NEWSPA news!
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 03
Adviser Profile:
Jeff Carter, Hartford Union High School
by Haley Walters
students who didn’t really like to
write but still needed the credit,” Carn the 12 years Jeff Carter has adter said. “It took a few years to realvised Hartford Union High School’s ly change that stigma that had been
newspaper, The Hartford Chroni- created through the school prior to
cle, he has incorporated his experi- me getting there.”
ence as a journalist to improve the
He started by recruiting students
quality of the publication and teach through English classes who had
his students.
strong writing abilities and work ethBefore coming to the HC, Carter ics to report for the newspaper. Stuworked as a sports reporter, photog- dents then had to go through an aprapher, disc jockey, and radio sports plication process to be accepted onto
director. He also reported for his high the staff where they were expected to
school and college newspapers.
write, take photos, design pages and
“Having the professional experi- generate story ideas.
ence has given me a better idea of
“I tried to turn [The HC] into somenot just academically how to teach it, thing that’s more professional and
but also how to prepare students for for students who are more high-level
what their general experience would students and who could handle the
be when they may go to work for a responsibility of independent work
newspaper or go into college,” Carter and being able to write in a lot of
said. “I saw a lot of what worked and different styles,” Carter said. “[The
what didn’t work from the managers HC is] for students who are ready for
and advisers. I took a lot of that and thinking and writing and working toadapted what they did well and did gether collaboratively.”
that with the newspaper.”
Throughout his years as an advisLast year, the HC took first place at er, Carter said he has seen a shift in
NEWSPA for a newspaper publication the way news is delivered and written
produced in a class at a large school. as the HC starts to adapt to online
Carter attributes the win to the hard journalism.
work and leadership skills staff mem“Journalistic writing and reportbers demonstrate while producing ing, whether it’s in a print format or
the monthly paper.
online hasn’t really
“When you look
Go with what your passion altered that much,
at the newspaper
is. If you love it, don’t listen it’s just the way it’s
itself, whether it’s
going out to the
to the people who say jour- public,” Carter said.
print or online, most
nalism is perishing and you “The only nuance-y
people don’t appreciate how much efthings with digital
won’t make any money.
fort goes into makJeff Carter is that things have
ing it what it is,”
to be a little more
Hartford Chronicle Adviser concise and the
Carter said.
When
Carter
importance of the
came to the HC, he began working on headline has value.”
transforming the publication from a
Carter said he has been attendnews magazine with sub-par content ing NEWSPA for about 12 years and
to a newspaper utilizing journalistic it has become huge help in pushing
techniques similar to professional his students to take the newspaper
publications.
seriously and produce a good publi“When I first started, it was more cation.
of a magazine format and the class
“The editors who are returning
was sort of a dumping ground for know what the NEWSPA conference is
I
“
”
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 04
Photo courtesy of world wide web
Jeff Carter is the adviser of Hartford
Union High School’s student newspaper The Hartford Chronicle.
coming since they’ve been to the conference and understand they can get
awards and they get recognized for
their work and the paper as a whole,”
Carter said. “It really becomes a
strong motivator for the students,
especially the returners, to make the
paper great.”
According to Carter, one of the
best aspects of NEWSPA is the individual recognition it gives to students.
“A lot of the other organizations,
like KEMPA for example, only recognize the publication as a whole,” Carter said. “It’s nice to get the students
recognized individually for what they
were able to do.”
Carter said students who love writing and are determined to succeed
shouldn’t be afraid to pursue a career in journalism.
“Go with what your passion is,”
Carter said. “If you love it, don’t listen to the people who say journalism
is perishing and you won’t make any
money. With any profession those
things can be very true, but with any
profession somebody who is determined and focused can accomplish
those things.”
NEWSPA board plans 2014 conference
by Haley Walters
T
he
NEWSPA 2014 Conference
on
April 9
will feature a panel of keynote speakers, new
sessions geared toward online journalism and
opportunities to network with students, advisers and
media professionals.
New sessions will focus on utilizing the Internet to
share student publications and reach more readers.
Beth Plankey, adviser for Neenah High School’s online student newspaper, Satellite, will present “When
Your Newspaper Goes From Print to Online,” which
will focus on making a publication’s transition to the
web as smooth as possible and include information
on various web platforms. In addition, the board decided a create a new publication contest entry for online publications only. More information on that will
be posted on the NEWSPA website closer to the 2014
contest.
There will also be a session devoted to social media aimed to engage readers by using programs such
as Instagram and Twitter to share information, hold
contests and get feedback.
For students especially interested in social media,
the Careers in Journalism session will feature types
of careers available utilizing social media. Alex Gelhar, a NEWSPA and Oshkosh West High School alumnus, will talk about how he became a blogger for NFL.
com and more.
In addition, this year the board decided to offer
only one adviser session for both newspaper and
yearbook advisers, giving advisers more time to attend other presentations or network with other school
advisers individually.
The board also decided to rename and tweak three
sessions. “Making Images Speak Without Words” will
now be called “Getting Good Pictures Without Good
Equipment,” “Get Your Mojo” will now be “Digital Storytelling” and “Yearbook Writing and Trends” will now
be “Yearbook Trends.”
Following the morning sessions, the keynote presentation will include a panel of college students and
recent professionals who will share their experiences
of internships and being a young professional in the
journalism industry.
Possible speakers have interned with U.S. News and
World Report in Washington D.C., Details Magaine in
New York, NY, Caesar’s Entertainment in Las Vegas
NV and USA Today, as well as others.
They will talk about their internships, how they got
there and what students should do during college if
they want a similar internship or job, before answering questions from the audience.
“I’m particularly excited about our keynote pre-
Photo by Barb Benish
Board members discuss changes to the upcoming
NEWSPA conference at their meeting on Oct. 11.
sentation,” said NEWSPA Executive President Barbara Benish. “High school students have always told
us they particularly enjoy sessions featuring young
professionals because they can better relate to them.
And while we’re not yet sure who will be on the panel
now, we do know it includes young people who have
successfully met career goals early in their lives. I
think it will be a very interesting and uplifting presentation.”
On other matters, board members unanimously decided NEWSPA should offer up to $250 per school
that needs help paying for bus expeneses to get to the
NEWSPA conference in Oshkosh, as well as substitute
teacher costs. Beginning in 2014, NEWSPA will spend
as much as $500 each year to schools that request
financial assistance.
In order to qualify, schools should submit the financial application form that can be downloaded
from the NEWSPA website at http://www.uwosh.edu/
journalism/newspa. Funds will be allocated on a firstcome, first-serve basis.
Lastly, NEWSPA will be looking for additional feedback at the conference that can be used to improve
future conferences. “A lot of people didn’t take the
time to fill out the SurveyMonkey surveys last year
as we had hoped,” Benish said. “So this year we’re
planning to try Scantron surveys in hopes that more
students and advisers will tell us what they liked and
didn’t like.”
To get additional feedback, Benish will also email
all advisers who attend NEWSPA 2014 a link to a survey about the conference overall and future possible
speakers and sessions.
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 05
NEWSPA awards $500 scholarship
by Haley Walters
J
oseph
Lorenz
entered his first year
at UW Mad-
ison
$500 richer, thanks to his hard work at his
high school newspaper, The Talon, which paid off
as a NEWSPA scholarship.
Lorenz graduated from Sheboygan Falls High School
after working on the school’s newspaper for four years
where he grew as a writer and editor.
“One day, I went to the newspaper office and found
a printout taped to the door regarding the NEWSPA
scholarship,” Lorenz said. “I asked [my adviser] about
it and she said that she had left it for me specifically.
When she said that she thought I could win the scholarship, it was an odd feeling to hear someone say they
have faith in me, so it seemed like as good a reason as
any to go for it.”
Before attending the conference, Lorenz had some
suspicions about winning the scholarship.
“One morning, I’m in the newspaper office and our
editor-in-chief, Amy Zhang, is having a conversation
with Ms. Degenhardt [adviser],” Lorenz said. “When
she notices me, she says to me ‘You and I are going
on a date.’ More specifically, she told me that I’d be
attending the instructor’s lunch at NEWSPA. I had a
feeling it had to do with the scholarship, but I didn’t
want to get my hopes up, just to make sure I would be
crushingly disappointed.”
Lorenz is currently studying English at UW Madison
and is deciding between pursuing creative writing or
journalism.
“I give it thought everyday, and it’s safe to say that it
won’t be an easy choice,” Lorenz said. “I’d like to put
my writing talents to use in some field. Journalism is a
very likely category.”
Lorenz’s interest in journalism began when he started writing for his high school newspaper during freshman year. He eventually worked his way to becoming
an award-winning feature writer and joined the editing
staff junior year.
“I’ve always enjoyed writing, but when I got to high
school there weren’t a whole lot of options for me to
pursue with writing,” Lorenz said. “The only real one
seemed to be the Talon, so I figured I’d give it a shot. It
just kind of stuck.”
At his time at the paper, Lorenz and fellow staff
member Stpen Parent wrote a regular feature column
called Dual Perspective, which won an award at NEWSPA for humor columns.
“Our editor submitted it as a humor column, which
was not how Stephen and I wrote it as,” Lorenz said.
“From that point, we just rolled with it.”
Later on he continued writing humor during his junior year with “Everything’s Coming Up Joey.”
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 06
Photo by Alex Beld
Joseph Lorenz accepts his NEWSPA Scholarship
during the adviser luncheon at last year’s NEWSPA
conference. He now attends UW-Madison for English.
“The amount of thought that goes into those silly
cartoons you see in papers is crazy and humor is a billion times harder than you think,” Lorenz said.
Lorenz attended NEWSPA two times where he attended sessions and the award ceremonies.
“I always loved the award ceremony, since it brought
together the entirety of our newspaper writers as well
as the yearbook students that attended,” Lorenz said.
“It was always fun to applaud the winners, applaud
winners from our school a bit harder and gossip with
everyone in between the announcements.”
After his experience as a student journalist, Lorenz
said he learned a lot from working on the high school
newspaper and offers some advice for students interested in doing the same.
“Write for your school newspaper,” Lorenz said.
“Edit for your school newspaper. Spend way too much
time after school working for your school newspaper.
Read journalistic articles of all kinds. Suggest stupid
ideas for your school newspaper. Go to NEWSPA. Follow
grammar rules and the like, but don’t be boring.”
Lorenz said it’s important to be confident and follow
your instincts.
“Listen to that stupid little voice in your head, he
won be 500 bucks,” Lorenz said.
College newspaper travels to talk with high schools
by Haley Walters
S
chools who are staff of
NEWSPA
can request
a visit from UW Oshkosh’s student newspaper
The Advance-Titan to come and speak with students, offer advice and critique their work.
Advance-Titan adviser Vince Filak said the paper
decided to offer the service as a way to give back to
students.
“In a lot of cases journalism is a hands-on business,” Filak said. “Being able to work one-on-one with
people is where they get the most benefit.”
The meetings, which will usually include three to
four staff members will focus on the process of producing a publication instead of the end product.
“The difference between doing this long distance
and doing it in person is the difference between having
a mechanic working on your car and having a mechanic trying to diagnose it over the phone,” Filak said.
Filak said the visits can give the staff some perspective on how they are doing compared to other
publications.
“When you’re working on a high school newspaper,
you’re on an island,” Filak said. “There’s one editor-in-chief. Do they know they’re doing a good job?
No. Because there’s nothing to compare it to.”
The visits will also reaffirm what publications are
doing right and draw their attention to areas for im-
provement.
“The intention is to expose students to additional
helpful voices to give them what they need to be more
successful and better enjoy what they do,” Filak said.
Schools can request help in specific areas and Filak
will tailor the meetings to their needs as much as possible.
“If they say to me ‘we’re fine on writing but our photography is horrible’ then I’ll bring the editor-in-chief,
managing editor and the photo editor,” Filak said.
“We’re going to try to create a grocery list for advisers
and find people to meet their needs.”
Filak said the students coming to the meetings are
dependable and knowledgeable about what they do
and excited to share it with others.
“I think our students are mature, I think they’re
well rounded and they’re very well educated and know
what it takes to put out a product that brings important information to an audience,” Filak said.
The A-T will visit as many schools as they can and
take as much time as they need based on what the
paper requests.
“We’ll do as many as it takes,” Filak said. “I love
student media and I love the students who love it”
In order to get the A-T to come to your school, contact Barb Benish at benish@uwosh.edu or Vince Filak
at filakv@uwosh.edu.
Journalism Scholarships
NEWSPA Scholarship
$500
April 1, 2014
Applicants must have
worked on a school publication, attended a NEWSPA conference, be graduating in 2014, and plan
on majoring in journalism
or something pertaining
to it. An application and
500-word essay are required.
For more info visit www.
uwosh.edu/journalism/
newspa/scholarships
Free Spirit
Scholarship
Richard G. Zimmerman
Journalism Scholarship
$5,000
March 1, 2014
This scholarship selects
one student from each
state to attend the Spirit Journalism Conference
in Washington D.C. and
receive a scholarship.
Applicants must be a junior in high school and
plan to pursue a career in
journalism. Submit three
samples of work.
For more info visit www.
http://freespirit.org/
High school seniors with a
3.0 GPA and plans to go to
college are eligible to apply. Applicants must provide three copies of three
work samples, three letters of recommendation,
a high school transcript, a
completed FAFSA form, a
college acceptance letter
and completed application.
For more info visit: www.
press.org/about/scholarships/zimmerman
$1,000
Feb. 1, 2014
Family Travel Forum
Teen Travel Writing
Scholarship
$1,000, $500 and $250
February 2014
Submit a blog less than
600 words with a photo,
digital artwork or video.
Applicants must be between 13-18 years old.
For more info visit:
w w w. m y f a m i l y t r a v e l s .
com/Teen_travel_writing
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 07
20
Confer
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 08
Students enjoy a day of media,
learning at NEWSPA conference
by Haley Walters
013
rence
Recap
T
he
2013 NEWSPA
conference celebrated
student journalism while offering learning
and networking opportunities to high school
journalists.
The conference was held at UW Oshkosh
and featured over 20 sessions hosted by professionals, students and teachers.
Cartoonist Joe Heller taught students the
process of creating editorial cartoons. Photographer Phil Weston explained the importance of
good photos in a newspaper and offered his tips
on being a better photographer. Dan Flannery
spoke on the changing field of journalism and
what the future of print looks like. These, along
with numerous other session leaders provided
high school students with three hours of fun and
learning.
Sessions brought students from other
schools together to discuss ideas, challenges
and address questions about their publications.
Students were able to test their media trivia
in Journalism Smackdown and then learn about
food blogging from a fellow student journalist.
Following the sessions, keynote speaker
Kirsten Strom of Pandora Internet Radio spoke
to students about her career and how she landed
her job.
More info about the
conference on pages 10-16
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 09
Newspapers will continue on
D
by Issac Haight
within the last 10 to 15 years,” Flannery said. “We
have gone from doing a once a day or twice a day
product to having about 1,400 deadlines a day; that’s
dying; it’s just changing its role.
Dan Flannery, the executive editor for the Ap- online obviously.”
Flannery asked his audience of high school and
pleton Post-Crescent and regional executive editor for
Gannett Wisconsin Media, said despite discouraging college journalists if they read a newspaper daily,
numbers from newspapers, the art of journalism is and if so, which one.
One high school student said she read whatever
definitely still alive.
Flannery, who has worked in Appleton for more was available and that she read a newspaper a couple
times a week.
than 28 years, said: “Journal“I read [a newspaper] two
If nobody does the job of journalism,
ism is not dead… Newspapers
or three times a week,” she
still make a lot of money; its
you have no idea what’s going on.
said. “It’s usually the same
just not as much money as 10
paper so its whatever is at my
Dan Flannery
years ago, 15 years ago or 20
house.”
years ago,” he said. “NewspaAppleton Post-Crescent
UW Oshkosh journalism
pers play a vital role in what
student Ashley Gruenstern said newspapers’ niche is
happens in a community.”
Journalism, and in particular newspapers, will stay with the older generation since they like to hold the
alive because of the niche it has carved out for itself, paper in their hands.
“Some people like my grandparents don’t know
he said
“If nobody does the job of journalism, you have how to work a computer so they turn to [a newspano idea what’s going on,” Flannery said. “You play a per],” Gruenstern said. “They turn to that as their
pretty vital role in what happens in the life of a com- news source. That’s how they know things and they
trust it.”
munity.”
Flannery said it is encouraging to see so many
He went onto explain how journalism is adapting
rather than dying. The integration of technology and young people interested in journalism and hear that
social media has given journalists alternative routes young people are still interested in newspapers.
“I’m encouraged by this,” he said. “It keeps me
of getting information to the public.
“Technology has brought about a lot of change and a lot of other people employed.”
on ’ t listen to the naysayers .
Journalism
isn ’ t
“
”
Newspaper Facts
7,000+
number of Non-Daily newspapers
1,408
number of Daily newspapers
38.95
minutes spent reading a
community newspaper
Local news
71%
the most read topic of
newspapers
people believe their community
newspaper is accurate
Source: National Newspaper Association
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 10
Reviews begin
before the show
by Jason Chastain
W
hether writing reviews of movies, music or live
shows, the steps are all same.
Shane Nyman of the Appleton Post-Crescent told students at the 2013 NEWSPA conference
that adequate preparation is a crucial first step before
reviewing something.
“It is incredibly important to prepare,” Nyman said.
“I prepare before every review I do.”
This could include watching a director’s previous
works before going to review a movie or listening to a
band’s newest album before seeing them live, he said.
“Go in with notes, things to expect and things to
watch out for.”
Nyman said he avoids reading other reviews before
he’s had a chance to experience the art for himself
because he prefers to go into something without prior
thoughts about it.
“If you read something, chances are you’re going to
be thinking of that review,” Nyman said. “You’ll echo
what you’ve already read.”
During the presentation, Nyman showed a video of
Roger Ebert discussing the keys to writing a good review.
In the video Ebert said it’s not what something is
about, but how it is about it that is important.
The idea of simply telling the reader what happens
isn’t a good review, Nyman said.
“You can apply this to everything,” Nyman said. “No
matter what you are writing.”
Nyman offered tips on things to avoid when writing
reviews, such as using distracting language.
“Avoid ‘I’ statements,” Nyman said. “That makes
the audience think of you and not the art. Write as an
omniscient narrator.”
Nyman said when starting out with review writing,
many people tend to overwhelm the reader with extra
information.
“Avoid too much setup,” Nyman said. “Avoid too
much background. You’re likely to lose readers if all
you’re giving them is background.”
Nyman said social media plays a big role in his review writing, as it helps him figure out key points of
what he is reviewing.
“Any journalist worth their salt is on Twitter,” Nyman
said. “It helps boil down the key elements from the
night. Chances are, something you tweeted could be
re-worked as your lead.”
Nyman said when actually writing a review it’s OK
to have fun with the story, and review writing offers a
great chance to be creative.
“Reviews are to inform and entertain,” Nyman said.
“You’re writing about art. It’s not the most important
thing in the world; have fun with it.”
Having a unique voice is key to writing a good review,
even if that voice is contrary to popular opinion, Nyman said.
“If you didn’t like something, say so,” Nyman said.
“Be brave and be honest. Go against the grain, it’s OK.”
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 11
Photographer shares expertise at NEWSPA
by Taylor Lackey
P
hotographer
Phil Weston
spoke to students about
photography and the importance of good photos in
a publication.
“Making images speak without words is really what photography is all about.”
That’s what Weston stressed during his session.
When people see good photography, they give the equipment credit rather than the photographer, he said.
Weston worked for a daily newspaper in Europe and got
a degree in photojournalism from the University of Iowa.
While in Iowa, Weston took a commercial photography
class where he learned to control light and in 2000 he became an architectural photographer.
Weston spoke about the five rules of photography. The
first being the rule of thirds, which divides a photo horizontally and vertically into three parts while keeping the
subject in one of those sections.
Weston said leading lines help take the viewer’s eye to a
certain point of a photograph.
Good photography fills the frame, which means everything adds or subtracts from the photograph, Weston said.
“Photographers have to take responsibility of every
square inch, every pixel in the photograph, otherwise it
won’t be great photography,” Weston said.
According to Weston, patterns add value to a photo and
if a pattern is used and one element breaks the rule, the
pattern becomes more visible.
“One thing to remember about these rules is that gesture always trumps the rules of composition,” Weston said.
He introduced the value of light in a photograph. Weston
recommended to be aware of where the light comes from
and the photographer’s point of view.
He said to shoot at dusk or early daybreak since those
times give off ambient light.
After every photo he showed during the presentation, he
asked: “Where’s the photographer’s point of view? Where’s
the light coming from?”
Weston then spoke about the secrets of professionals.
He shared one of his secrets about how to get a natural
looking expression.
“The more we can stay away from the word ‘smile,’ the
healthier and more natural photo you’ll get,” Weston said.
When he shoots portraits, Weston asks his subject for
a puzzled expression and takes a photo. After being silly,
the subject laughs and Weston said he gets a natural shot.
Weston then asks for a surprised expression from his
subject, takes a photo, and again, the subject laughs.
“If I would’ve asked him to give me a smile, I don’t think
I would’ve got that,” Weston said. “You know they’re going
to laugh.”
His final point was about where photography is headed.
“Markets do change over time,” Weston said. “What
stays constant is the need for good photography, photography that speaks well for people.”
NEWSPA gives advice to future college students
by Katie Neumann
B
esides helping
students suc-
ceed as future journalists,
NEWSPA also provides advice
for students’ future college careers.
Social media and web content specialist at UW Oshkosh Melanie Cross
and UW Oshkosh senior Jenell Riesner
told students during the 2013 NEWSPA conference getting involved with a
club or organization is the key to succeeding in college.
Cross said finding a balance between work, school and fun is something students need to prioritize.
“You have time, you just have to
make time to go to those things, even
if it’s just an hour here or there,” Cross
said. “Just schedule it right away, plan
on doing it. You’ll feel so much better.”
Riesner stressed finding a balance
and encouraged students to experience what their campus has to offer.
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 12
“You’re in college, you’re here to
experience something new,” she said.
“You can play video games all you
want but realize there’s a lot of opportunities that are there for you.”
Cross said involvement is crucial to
a successful social life.
“Just look around you for all of the
opportunities,” Cross said. “The more
you get involved in, the more people
you know, the more people they know.”
Riesner said a club, organization,
or on-campus job is the starting point
for building a quality resume.
“It shows that you’re dedicated and
it shows that you’re interested in what
you’re going to do,” Riesner said. “It
puts you ahead professionally.”
While GPA is important, she said,
work experience is equally as important. If two people are equally qualified for a job, involvement in campus
activities can set the other apart.
Oshkosh North High School senior
Meghan Ziegler attended the presentation and said she hoped the session
would ease some nervousness about
freshman year.
“None of us really know what it’s
going to be like going to college so
we’re all kind of afraid,” Ziegler said.
“We thought this [session] would be a
good one to go to, to get advice from
college students and people who’ve
been through it to kind of guide us
along the way.”
Ziegler said the presentation
helped her realize that many students
are feeling unsure about their first
year.
“They were explaining how everyone feels the same way you do about
getting involved in clubs, and so you’re
not alone in feeling awkward and feeling scared,” Ziegler said. “It was nice
to know that everything will be OK if
you just put yourself out there and do
it.”
Food blogger gives a recipe for success
by Ashley Gruenstern
F
ood. Fitness. Faith.
Those three things describe Amanda Gajdosik, a
journalism student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism who aspires to be a food writer.
Gajdosik spoke at the 2013 NEWSPA conference about
her Food, Fitness, Faith blog and shared tips on how to
create a successful online journal.
She said that her blog is a way to show who she is
through her three pillars: food, fitness and faith.
“Whatever you’re going to write about, make it your passion,” Gajdosik said.
Gajdosik said she used every excuse to write about food
and because of her independent study in blogging she was
able to improve her original blog, The Dormestic Goddess,
into what it is today.
Blogging isn’t the only type of writing that Gajdosik
does. She also is a writer and photographer for a student-run food magazine, Spoon, at Northwestern University. Gajdosik also is an intern at Candy Industry Magazine.
“Bloggers create and brand themselves into who they
want to be and what they want to write about,” Gajdosik
said.
She shared her tips about blogging and gave advice to
the audience on ways to improve their own blogs and expand their audience.
“Consistency is key,” Gajdosik said. “Get a posting
schedule and don’t be afraid to post. Spacing out your
posts can also help grow your audience.”
Creating a presence using social media is also a great
device when trying to expand one’s audience and connect
with other bloggers, she said.
Photo courtesy of world wide web
Amanda Gajdosik writes a blog about cooking, exercise and her life. Last spring she spoke at NEWSPA
about her experiences as a blogger and writer.
“Social media is a great tool to connect with other bloggers and people,” Gajdosik said. “Make yourself a known
presence on other bloggers’ social media by commenting
on their posts or following them on different sites.”
An easy trap to fall into is writer’s block. Gajdosik said
that she distracts herself for a while and thinks of things
she should or needs to write about.
“Sit down and write,” Gajdosik said. “Don’t think about
word count.”
Blogging has presented her with different opportunities
and has taught her things about herself. Gajdosik said she
is recovering from an eating disorder and fights everyday to
become happier and healthier.
“The biggest opportunity is becoming more active about
eating disorder awareness,” Gajdosik said. “It’s very therapeutic and helps me vent my emotions. You also don’t
know how many people you’ll touch. You have a story to
share and it can help others.”
About Amanda:
Attends Northwestern University for
journalism
Blogs about food and fitness at
www.foodfitnessfaithblog.com
Graduated from Berlin High School
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 13
Students compete in smackdown
by Ashley Whaples
W
hen candy and prizes are
given out during a NEWSPA
session, things are bound
to get pretty competitive.
The students participating in the
Journalism Smackdown sessions
during NEWSPA 2013 didn’t disappoint.
“I’ve been doing these sessions
since 1998,” UW Oshkosh professor Miles Maguire said. “It’s a good
way for the students to listen to
the top journalists in the area and
to have competition among others
to test their knowledge, but while
playing a game.”
Maguire explained to students
that Journalism Smackdown conPhoto by Alex Beld
sisted of five rounds: journalism
Students
compete
in
Journalism
Smackdown
during
a
2013
NEWSPA
firsts, usage quotes, news about
session.
The
game
tests
students’
knowledge
about
journalism
and
news, AP style and grammar.
current
events
and
awards
candy
to
the
winning
teams.
“Each answer is worth one point
for the first three rounds, and two
points for the other two rounds,” guess to win the game,” Maguire them, so you just kind of have to
Maguire said. “We asked the stu- said.
let it go.”
dents to form five teams and buzz
Oshkosh West student Kara RheStudents said they enjoyed the
in the correct answer after the ingans said she enjoyed the gram- sessions, but felt they could learn
question flashes on the screen.”
mar round more than the others.
more about the AP style round
When Maguire asked, “What was
“I felt that everyone in the group questions.
the first penny paper to achieve suc- could help answer the grammar
“I mean, most of the AP quescess in the United States?” teams questions the best because we tions our group had no idea what
buzzed in to answer his question, each had a good idea of the us- the errors were,” Rheingans said.
which was The New York Sun.
age rules,” Rheingans said. “I also “We just kind of winged it on the
“It was great to see the kids knew most of the answers because answers, but we did know most of
so eager to anI write and edit the months and date corrections,
swer questions,”
for our school which helped my group for the win.”
It’s not often that you can
NEWSPA founder
newspaper and
The final question asked was,
get students from several
Gary Coll said.
grammatical er- “The New York Times won a Pulitdifferent high schools and get rors are easy to zer Prize for its recent investigation
“It’s not often
that you can get
them to want to learn more
spot for me.”
in what?” when the Rheingans team
students
from
Toward
the buzzed in for the win.
about journalism topics.
several different
end, most stu“International trade!” the team
Gary Coll dents
high schools and
called shouted. “Officials at Walmart have
NEWSPA founder out the answers been involved in bribes.”
get them to want
to learn more
in order to get
Overall, every team ended up
about journalism topics.”
points for a win, Maguire said.
with points on the board, which is
Maguire challenged the students
“I had to make sure to let the the purpose of the sessions, Maguwhen they buzzed in an answer by students know they would be dis- ire said.
making them further explain why qualified if they answered before
“Having around 25 schools here,
an answer would be true or false.
the question was stated,” he said. and watching students get excited
“The goal is get [the students] to “But it showed competition and to answer these questions is wonprovide an explanation, not just to that’s what we want to see out of derful,” he said.
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 14
“
”
Good writing needs variety
by Zach Cook
C
hippewa
Herald
sports editor and
UW Oshkosh
alumnus Brandon Berg explained the difference
between news, features and columns at his 2013
NEWSPA session on sports writing.
“You need to be able to write long enough to tell a
story,” Berg said. “Don’t write just for the sake of writing
and make sure you address all questions so your reader
is not left questioning themselves about what you wrote.”
Berg said writers never know what they may find when
writing a feature.
“Everyone has a story to tell,” Berg said. “It may not
always be the most interesting, but nonetheless they still
have a story to tell.”
He stressed the importance of variation in writing and
said writers should avoid using the same style or format
for every story.
“Variety is the most important thing I stress to my
writers because I don’t want them to keep going to the
same well,” Berg said. “Our most popular stories at
times have not necessarily been football or basketball,
but rather a little more off the beaten path.”
Berg concluded by talking about column writing and
gave students one last piece of advice.
“Facts are your best friend when writing columns because it backs and validates your opinions,” he said.
“Not all stories will appeal to everybody, but all stories
appeal to somebody so don’t be afraid to express your
thoughts.”
Session takes on interviewing problems
by Garrick Garvens
P
eople worry about how to get
the most out of life, but Trent
Scott showed students at the
2013 NEWSPA conference that it was
just as important to get the most out
of every interview.
Scott, English teacher at Oshkosh
West High School and adviser for the
Oshkosh West Index, said the session
would be more interactive, rather
than just another lecture.
“This is going to be more like group
therapy than a class,” Scott said. “It
will work out better for all of you if
you interact with the questions I ask.”
Scott brought his senior managing editor Daphne Thompson, who
has three years of writing and editing
experience with the Oshkosh West
Index, to help give students advice
about holding interviews.
Scott and Thompson asked the
students many questions and gave
feedback to the problems students
said they had while conducting interviews.
Thompson asked the class what
kind of problems they ran into while
conducting interviews. Students replied that some people they interview
don’t always give them the information they ask for or they don’t get
back to them after they have been
contacted for an interview.
Photo by Denise Cakmak
Daphne Thompson (left) and Trent Scott address NEWSPA attendees
about interviewing techniques.
“Has anyone ever had trouble getting someone to talk to you for an interview?” Scott asked the class.
A student raised his hand and replied: “Lunch ladies. I think they have
some sort of secret they are hiding.”
They also acted out a skit with
Thompson showing the students how
not to conduct an interview with a
source.
“Can anyone tell me what Daphne
did wrong this time?” Scott asked.
A student raised her hand and
said, “Her questions weren’t well constructed, and she didn’t follow them
up with better questions.”
“Yes! Did anyone happen to notice
how Daphne didn’t have a very personable manner about her? This is
also important to maintain during an
interview,” Scott said.
As time ran out, Scott reminded
students that the best time to write is
right after the interview, and to keep
the information from the interview in
context with the rest of the story.
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 15
Start with the basics, the rest will fall into place
from how to lay out big graphic art to how to get photographers to listen to what you have to say.
Abigail Edmonds, the editor-in-chief of Appleton North
an Higgins preached the basics of newspaper design during his presentation at the 2013 NEWSPA High School’s Nocticula student newspaper, attended the
conference, and even cited a speech that Wisconsin session with hopes to fill a void left by a classmate.
“One of our [page designers] quit halfway through the
legend Vince Lombardi said to his team on the first day
year,” Edmonds said. “And I really like layout so I took
of each season.
“Every year, Lombardi would go into the locker room on over her responsibilities and wanted to learn more about
the first day of practice and say ‘This is a football,’” said design.”
Following the question and answer segment, Higgins
Higgins, Green Bay Press Gazette columnist and features
allowed students to give him their
editor. “You need to treat design
the same way. Begin with an empty
The best way to get attention is with papers so he could show the audience some do’s and don’ts in repage and work from there.”
a photo. But a close second is an
gards to newspaper design.
Higgins told students to begin
attractive headline.
One of the design aspects Edby picking a focal point, such as a
Dan Higgins monds is most eager to take back
photo, for a page and building everything around that.
Oshkosh Northwestern to her Nocticula staff is that of vertical text and “oddities” that break
Next, Higgins gave some tips on
how to attract the most attention to a front page. Some up a page, such as a front page rail or a Q and A column.
“I think our newspaper is definitely a little too horizonof the more stressed points were varying font sizes, white
tal sometimes,” Edmonds said. “I definitely want to use
space, good photos and big, catchy headlines.
“The best way to get attention is with a photo,” Higgins more vertical breaks like he was talking about during critiques.”
said. “But a close second is an attractive headline.”
Higgins touched on newspaper design in regards to
After sharing some “things I’ve seen” knowledge with
graphs and artwork, but ended by reminding the students
the students, he opened up the floor to questions.
The students stayed engaged throughout Higgins’ pre- that if they start with the basics, the rest will eventually
sentation and asked a wide array of questions ranging fall into place.
by Gary Flick
D
“
”
Session teaches students to be Googleable
by Skyler Bohn
S
ocial media isn’t just a way to keep up with friends.
It’s a way to promote and market skills.
Oshkosh North High School teacher Brad Weber
talked about how social media can help students get a
job.
“We have to figure out how to use the skills we have, to
better promote ourselves for future and better job opportunities,” Weber said. “Most teenagers do not know how
to utilize social media or choose not to do it.”
Weber told students getting their names out there with
brand recognition is important so people know them and
the quality of work they provide.
“Colleges, employers, and companies want people who
can design and share global communities to meet a variety of purposes,” Weber said. “Your job is to get [colleges
and employers] to be aware of your brand recognition.”
In an example, Weber described how a previous student made a music video of the Beastie Boys’ song “Sabotage” and used it to market his filming talents.
“Evan started putting it [the music video] on Facebook
and YouTube and it came across the eyes of the assistant
dean at USC [University of Southern California],” Weber
said. “The assistant dean wanted Evan to enroll into their
uwosh.edu/journalism/newspa 16
film program. Now people ask [Evan] to do different videos for them, meaning he now has brand recognition.”
Cedarburg High School student Billy Kobin attended
Weber’s session and said he thought the examples were
the most useful aspects of the presentation.
“Some of the stuff I already heard about branding, but
it was great to see examples of how it is successful if you
try hard and really want something,” he said.
Another concept Weber promoted was the importance
of being “Googleable.”
“With today’s social media, résumés are dying and it
is possible that in five to seven years college applications
will change completely,” Weber said. “By the end of high
school, you need to be ‘Googleable’ or have positive information on the Internet for people to see.”
Cedarburg High School student Kyle Watters said the
idea of being “Googleable” was particularly important.
“The whole thing of being ‘Googleable’ was interesting,” he said. “It showed that you want to have a positive
image on the Internet to promote your skills to colleges
and employers.”
Weber offered some advice to students in his session.
“You need to be different, start a cause, do community
service; you need to promote yourself to get brand recognition and then you will standout amongst the others.”
2013-2014 NEWSPA Board Members
Sara Marquardt, President (2015)
Reflections (yearbook)
Oshkosh North High School
1100 W. Smith Ave.
Oshkosh, WI 54901-1896
920-424-4020, ext. 2684
sara.marquardt@oshkosh.k12.wi.us
Trent Scott (2016)
The Index (yearbook)
Ashwaubenon High School
2391 S.Ridge Road
Ashwaubenon, WI 54304
(920) 492-2955 ext. 5126
eslowinski@ashwaubenon.k12.wi.us
Susan Carlson (2015)
The Hi-Light (newspaper)
Green Bay East High School
1415 E. Walnut St.
Green Bay, WI 54301-4305
920-448-2090
scarlson@greenbay.k12.wi.us
Emma Slowinski (2015)
The Paw (newspaper)
Oshkosh West High School
375 N. Eagle St.
Oshkosh, WI 54902
920-424-4092
trent.scott@oshkosh.k12.wi.us
Lucas Cleary (2015)
Hi-Lights (newspaper)
Plymouth High School
125 S. Highland Ave.
Plymouth, WI 53073-2599
920-893-6911, ext. 1538
lcleary@plymouth.k12.wi.us
Matt Smith (2016)
Cardinal Columns (newspaper)
Fond Du Lac High School
801 Campus Dr.
Fond Du Lac, WI 54935
920-238-9255
smithm@fonddulac.k12.wi.us
Jason Cummings (2014)
North Star (newspaper)
Oshkosh North High School
1100 W. Smith Ave.
Oshkosh, WI 54901-1896
920-424-4020, ext. 682
jason.cummings@oshkosh.k12.wi.us
Amy Karoses (2016)
Notebook (yearbook)
Oshkosh West High School
375 N. Eagle St.
Oshkosh, WI 54902-4294
920-424-4092; fax: 920-424-4950
amy.karoses@oshkosh.k12.wi.us
Shannon Kuehmichel (2015)
Red ‘n’ Green (newspaper)
Berlin High School
222 Memorial Dr.
Berlin, WI 54923-1252
920-361-2000, ext. 1815
skuehmichel@berlin.k12.wi.us
Aaron Rompani (2014)
Noctiluca (newspaper)
Appleton North High School
5000 N. Ballard Road
Appleton, WI 54913-8942
920-832-4300
ramponiaaron@aasd.k12.wi.us
Contacts at UW-Oshkosh
Mailing Address:
NEWSPA
Department of Journalism
UW-Oshkosh
800 Algoma Blvd Oshkosh, WI 54901-8696
Barb Benish, Executive Secretary
920-424-7145
Fax: 920-424-7146
benish@uwosh.edu
Haley Walters, PR Assistant
414-467-8195
walteh07@uwosh.edu
Cindy Schultz, Academic Program Associate
920-424-1042
Fax: 920-424-7146
schultzc@uwosh.edu
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